4.  The applicants were born in 1929, 1931, 1927, 1935 and 1940 respectively. The first applicant resides in Ankara, the second, third and fourth applicants reside in Muğla and the last applicant resides in Denizli.
5.  The applicants are the owners of a plot of land of 330,000 square metres (plot no. 1416), in the district of Milas, in Muğla.
6.  On 14 October 1978 the land was officially designated as a first degree conservation area (birinci derece sit alanı) by the High Committee of Ancient Buildings and Monuments attached to the Ministry of Culture, following the discovery of the ruins of an ancient city, Bargylia, in the region. Subsequently, construction of buildings in this area was prohibited pursuant to the Law on Ancient Buildings (Law no. 1710).
7.  On 24 June 1987 and 8 February 1990, Law no. 3386 and Regulations no. 20427 came into force respectively. According to the Law and the Regulations, lands designated as conservation areas could be exchanged for lands owned by the Treasury.
8.  On 17 July 1987 the applicants applied to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and requested that their land be exchanged for two plots of land in Muğla which belonged to the Treasury.
9.  On 2 May 1988 their request was dismissed as one of the plots that the applicants requested was unavailable for exchange.
10.  In 1990, 1993, 1995 and 1997 Jale Musluoğlu[3] filed several petitions with the Ministry, on behalf of the owners of plot no. 1416 and requested that their land be exchanged for land belonging to the Treasury. No action was taken by the authorities until 1997.
11.  On 11 November 1997 the applicants concluded an agreement with the authorities and plot no. 1416 was exchanged for several plots of land owned by the Treasury. However, the agreement was not approved by the Minister of Finance.
12.  On 10 July 1998 Jale Musluoğlu1 filed a petition with the Ministry of Finance. However, she received no reply to her petition.
13.  On 3 November 1998 the applicants filed an action before the Ankara Administrative Court. They alleged that the failure of the Ministry to approve the agreement of 11 November 1997 meant disapproval and requested the annulment of that decision.
14.  On 8 February 1999 the Ankara Administrative Court issued a decision of lack of territorial jurisdiction and sent the case-file to the Aydın Administrative Court.
15.  On 27 September 2000 the Aydın Administrative Court dismissed the applicants' case. The court noted that, according to the Regulations no. 20427, the plots belonging to the Treasury which were to be exchanged for should be located within the borders of the same district as the individuals' plots. It further noted that the three plots of land which were to be exchanged for the applicants' land were located in another district of the Muğla province and, therefore, considered that the Ministry's decision not to approve the agreement had been lawful.
16.  On 25 April 2002 the Supreme Administrative Court quashed the judgment of the first-instance court. It noted that the Regulations no. 20427 had been amended on 19 February 1992 and that, according to the amended text, the plots belonging to the Treasury which were to be exchanged for should be located within the borders of the same province.
17.  On 3 October 2002, the case-file was sent to the Muğla Administrative Court since, in the meantime, an administrative court was established in this province.
18.  On 18 July 2003 the Muğla Administrative Court abided by the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court and held that the decision of the Ministry had been unlawful.
19.  The Ministry of Finance appealed. On 24 February 2006 the Supreme Administrative Court quashed the decision of the first-instance court.
20.  The case was once again transmitted before the Muğla Administrative Court where the proceedings are still pending.